One year ago, on December 11, Vince Gill's good friend and Time Jumpers bandmate Dawn Sears passed away following a battle with lung cancer.

Over the course of her career, Sears released three solo studio albums, and her 1994 single "Runaway Train" made its way onto the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

In addition to her solo career, Sears also provided vocals for the Western swing band, The Time Jumpers, which Gill was a part of. For 22 years, she also sang background vocals for Gill on many occasions. Since the two had worked together for so long, Gill was deeply saddened when Sears passed away.

A year after Sears' death, Gill took to Facebook to share a post in tribute to her, saying how much he misses her.

This day last year we lost the wonderful Dawn Sears. She was an incredible woman and I miss her dearly every day!

During a performance at the Ryman Auditorium on December 18, 2014, a week after Sears' death, Gill dedicated his performance to her, and he even wrote a special song called "Kid Sister" in hermemory.

Prior to his performance, Gill talked about Sears, and how saddened he was by her passing:

"I lost a really sweet friend last Thursday night. I was on this stage, and I knew that she was ill, and not expected to last much longer...I had planned to go see her Friday morning after the show here last Thursday night, but she didn't make it. But what was beautiful is I felt her spirit come in this room when she went, at about nine, nine-thirty on Thursday night. It was really beautiful."

Gill continues to praise Sears before his performance, calling her "one of the best singers I've ever heard in my life."

The emotion in Gill's voice is clear as he sings, and at the end of the song he's so choked up that he can't even finish singing the last few words.

You can watch Gill's emotional performance in dedication to Sears in the video below.

It's clear that Sears left a major impact on Gill's life, and that he will carry her memory with him forever.